Local News

Another Group Opposes Stilo Development And Its Attempts To Grab Public Lands

March 22, 2015

The group Earth Justice has added its voice to the growing opposition to the Stilo development project which would add three million square feet of commercial space and thousands of residents to the environmentally fragile area surrounding the Grand Canyon.

A March 20th letter to the Kaibab National Forest Service reads in part:

"On behalf of National Parks Conservation Association, Grand Canyon Trust, Sierra Club, and Center for Biological Diversity, Earth Justice requests that the Forest Service reject Tusayan’s application because it is not in the public interest. We urge the Forest Service to review our request promptly because the Kaibab NF intends to begin scoping under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the application as soon as April 1, 2015."

The letter goes on to say the development represents one of the biggest threats to the Grand canyon national park in its 100 year history and the primary beneficiary of the project is a foreign owned company. It says the development could bring groundwater pumping which could dry up seeps and springs that feed the Grand Canyon national Park.

The letter goes on to say:

"Groundwater pumping accompanying the development could also lower the aquifer that is the exclusive source of all water for, and is the cultural foundation of, the Havasupai Tribe. The rights-of-way are opposed by nearby businesses, the City of Flagstaff, and a variety of conservation groups, including the undersigned. The development will also transform the forest in the area from an undeveloped landscape to a busy resort complex. The public interest thus strongly supports denial of the application before beginning an environmental analysis that will ignite controversy and will take years to resolve."

This letter is just the latest in a series of growing opposition to the Stilo plan which is dependent on the Forest Service granting Stilo access to Forest Service land to profit from its development plans.